The gap between the top and bottom clubs in the English Premier League, as far as television revenue is concerned, has been narrowed once again.

Last year, the best team in the competition earned 1.54 times as much as the bottom side in TV cash income. The ratio was 1.66 the previous season.

The picture becomes clearer if one looks at the situation in Spain where TV rights are negotiated on a club-by-club basis.

There is a huge disparity between the income of giants Barcelona and Real Madrid and the rest. Last season, Real and Barca earned 12.5 times more than the smallest club in the Primera Liga.

However, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore believes the English system is the best.

“We believe that our income distribution mechanism, the most equitable of Europe’s major football leagues, rewards sporting success while also guaranteeing a significant amount to each club so that they can plan from one season to the next,” he was quoted as saying.

“Many have commented on the competitive nature of this season’s Barclays Premier League. The clubs deserve huge credit for putting on fantastic competition. We believe the way we distribute broadcast income plays a part in allowing each club to compete at the highest level.”

In England, the Premier League bosses distribute TV rights money based on where clubs finish at the end of the season. As things stand, each place in the Premier League table is worth £756,000.

Relegated clubs West Ham, Birmingham and Blackpool received a ‘parachute money’ of £15m.

Yet, not all is rosy with regards to the financial situation in English football.

Brian Burgess, of Supporters Direct, said: “The Select Committee’s inquiry has provided a welcome opportunity to consider the challenges facing football in this country and hear the views of the fans.

“With 52 clubs who are or have been in the top 92 having suffered from insolvency issues since 1992 it is clear that things cannot carry on as they are.

“We look forward to working with the government, the FA, the Premier League and the Football League to develop practical solutions to respond to the inquiry’s recommendations.”

Club call

Arsenal

Manager: Arsene Wenger.

Ins: Carl Jenkinson (Finland) def from Charlton − £6m; Gervinho (Ivory Coast) fwd from Lille − £15m; Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fwd from Southampton £15m.

Aston Villa

Manager: Alex McLeish.

Ins: Shay Given gk from Manchester City − £3.5m. Charles N’Zogbia mf from Wigan − £9.5m.

Blackburn Rovers

Manager: Steve Kean.

Ins: David Goodwillie fwd from Dundee United − £2.8m.

Bolton Wanderers

Manager: Owen Coyle.

Ins: Darren Pratley mf from Swansea − free. Nigel Reo-Coker mf from Aston Villa − free. Chris Eagles mf from Burnley − £1.5m. Tyrone Mears def from Burnley − £1.5m.

Chelsea

Manager: Andre Villas-Boas.

Ins: Oriol Romeu (Spain) mf from Barcelona − £4.35m.

Everton

Manager: David Moyes.

Fulham

Manager: Martin Jol.

Ins: Csaba Somogyi (Hungary) goalkeeper from Rakospalotai − free. Marcel Gecov (Czech Republic) mf from Slovan Liberec − £1.3m. Pajtim Kasami (Switzerland) mf from Palermo − £3.5m. John Arne Riise def from Roma − £1.5m.

Liverpool

Manager: Kenny Dalglish.

Ins: Jordan Henderson mf from Sunderland − £18m; Charlie Adam mf from Blackpool − £8.5m; Stewart Downing fwd from Aston Villa − £20m. Alexander Doni (Brazil) gk from Roma − £2m.

Manchester City

Manager: Roberto Mancini.

Ins: Stefan Savic (Mongtenegro) def from Partizan Belgrade − £10m; Gael Clichy def from Arsenal − £7m. Sergio Aguero (Argentina) fwd from Atletico Madrid − £38m.

Manchester United

Manager: Alex Ferguson.

Ins: Ashley Young fwd from Aston Villa − £17m; David De Gea (Spain) gk from Atletico Madrid − £18.9m; Phil Jones def from Blackburn £16.5m.

Newcastle United

Manager: Alan Pardew.

Ins: Sylvain Marveaux (France) mf from Stade Rennes − free; Demba Ba fwd from West Ham − £3.5m; Mehdi Abeid (France) mf from Lens – free; Gabriel Obertan (France) fwd from Manchester United undisclosed.

Norwich

Manager: Paul Lambert.

Ins: Steve Morison fwd from Millwall − £2.5m; Ritchie De Laet, def from Man. United − loan; Anthony Pilkington fwd from Huddersfield − £2.2m; Bradley Johnson mf from Leeds − free. Kyle Naughton def from Tottenham − loan.

Queens Park Rangers

Manager: Neil Warnock.

Ins: Kieron Dyer mf from West Ham − free; Jay Bothroyd fwd from Cardiff – free; Danny Gabbidon def from West Ham – free; DJ Campbell fwd from Blackpool − £1.25m.

Stoke City

Manager: Tony Pulis

Ins: Jonathan Woodgate def from Tottenham − free.

Sunderland

Manager: Steve Bruce.

Ins: Ahmed Elmohamady (Egypt) mf from ENPPI − £1.2m; Seb Larsson fwd from Coventry − free; Keiren Westwood gk from Coventry − free; Connor Wickham fwd from Ipswich − £9m; John O’Shea def from Manchester United − £7m; Wes Brown def from Manchester United − £1m; Craig Gardner def from Birmingham − £6m; Ji Dong-won (South Korea) fwd from Chunnam Dragons − £2m; David Vaughan mf from Blackpool − free.

Swansea

Manager: Brendan Rodgers.

Ins: Danny Graham fwd from Watford − £3.5m; Jose Moreira (Portugal) gk from Benfica − £1.5m; Steven Caulker def from Tottenham − loan. Leroy Lita fwd from Middlesbrough − £1m. Wayne Routledge fwd from Newcastle − £2m.

Tottenham Hotspur

Manager: Harry Redknapp.

Ins: Brad Friedel gk from Aston Villa − free; Cristian Ceballos (Spain) fwd from Barcelona − free. Souleymane Coulibaly (Ivory Coast) fwd from Siena − £750,000.

West Bromwich Albion

Manager: Roy Hodgson.

Ins: Billy Jones def from Preston − free. Ben Foster gk from Birmingham − loan. Zoltan Gera from Fulham − free.

Wigan Athletic

Manager: Robert Martinez.

Ins: Ali Al-Habsi gk from Bolton (after loan) − £4m.

Wolves

Manager: Mick McCarthy.

Ins: Jamie O’Hara mf from Tottenham − £5m; Dorus De Vries from Swansea − free; Roger Johnson def from Birmingham − £7m.